Logan Martin Discusses Gold Medal Win 2

From the moment BMX Freestyle was announced as an Olympic sport, Logan Martin set his sights on the Gold and never looked away. Through difficult personal matters, injuries, and even a pandemic, Logan remained 100% focused and committed. His first run scored a 93.30 and it was all he would need to lock down the grand prize. We caught up with Logan to discuss this monumental win, the Olympic process, what's next, and much more.

Well, you did it. You are officially the first man to ever win an Olympic Gold Medal in BMX Freestyle. How does it feel? Is it everything you ever imagined?

As you could probably imagine, it feels amazing! So much work, time, effort, sacrifice, and dedication went into this goal and it feels amazing when things work out just the way you envision them! It’s bigger than I ever thought it would be, to be honest. I know how big The Olympics are, but it’s crazy to see just how much support there is for all Olympians. I had old schoolmates, teachers, celebrities, and every other person you can think of come out and show so much support and congratulate me.

Take us through the competition day. How were you feeling? Was everything perfect or did you have to overcome any unexpected obstacles?

You know what’s funny - I was so much more nervous for the seeding round -  when I knew no one was getting eliminated - than I was for finals. I woke up on finals day prepared to be super nervous, but actually felt so much better than the day before. We had thirty minutes of practice before the contest and I noticed my back wheel wasn’t feeling right on my first run, so I swapped it out with my other wheel from my spare bike. That’s probably the only little thing I had to overcome that day, which wasn’t a big deal for me. I just swapped it out and got on with practice.

When it was time to ride, how were your nerves? You had put so much into getting there - was it difficult to focus?

There were nerves for sure. That day, I was constantly telling myself I could do it. The hard work is done. All the work I put in at home is for these two sixty second runs. So much self-talk to calm myself down and not trying to think of anything but those two runs. No thought of after the contest, the potential outcome, or anything - just purely focused on my two runs!

Your first run was enough to get it done. It was an awesome run, but I know you’re capable of more. Did you think it was enough to lock down Gold after pulling it?

I went into it with a good plan. One solid run and a second run with bigger tricks. The first would be smooth - perfect landings and tricks I do everyday. Run two would have bigger tricks - also with tricks I do most days - but that second run might not have been as clean as the first, but bigger tricks for sure. I knew run one would crack the 90s. I got a great understanding of the way the contest was being judged from the seeding round, so that helped a lot. I stayed in the mindset of believing that run one wasn’t going to win and was fully prepared to do run number two. It was in a very good position to be sitting in because I knew it was good enough for a medal. Much less pressure going into run number two if I had to go again! 

On your “victory lap,” you crashed. I’m assuming you weren’t 100% all-in based on knowing you had already won. Am I right? Would we have seen a different performance if you needed to up your score?

Yeah. I knew I had won the Gold, so I didn’t even need to drop in. At that point, I purely just wanted to show the world a front bike flip - which worked perfectly - so I figured I’d keep going to try and up my score. Once I slipped a foot on a switch triple whip, I knew that wasn’t happening so I just stopped and enjoyed the moment! 

I’m sure when you imagined this moment, your wife and son were there with you to celebrate. Was it disappointing having to do that celebration virtually?

It would have been great to have them there for sure - just like when I won two X Games Golds on the same day. It was amazing that they were there for that. I guess I had a bit of practice celebrating virtually after winning another World Championship a month earlier, but at The Olympics it was still so amazing to see them live on the TV once I exited the course. I’ve never been emotional or teared up after any of my great achievements, but I did for this one - once I saw my family.

Did any one person reach out to you after taking the win that was unexpected and meant a lot to you?

Honestly, so many people that I didn’t expect reached out to me! Nicole Kidman did a post about me, our Prime Minister and other big leaders in our country posted about my win. It’s so amazing to see and I’m so stoked I got to showcase BMX on the biggest stage.

The cat’s out of the bag now that Australia built a replica Olympic course that you were able to ride in the weeks leading up to the event. Do you feel like this gave you a big advantage?

It definitely was a big advantage! Nothing is ever exactly the same, so I didn’t go to Tokyo with a solid plan of my run, but I definitely played around with a few different options. Another country built a replica just like us and that truly paid off for them, too. 

How was Australia’s support throughout this process? As an outsider, it looks to me like they backed their team more than any other country.

It was crazy to have the support we had. I think after seeing my results in the past and the fact it was a new sport, they truly backed myself and Natalya to give us every chance of getting Medals. The Australia Cycling team have supported us for a few years the best they could, but in the last year, they branched out down different avenues to do even more. Building an Indoor park and a replica Olympic park were game changing moments of support for us!

We recently ran through all of your accomplishments - multiple X Games Gold Medals, multiple World Championship victories, and much more. Was this the sweetest victory of your career?

100%. This is the sweetest victory for me. I wanted this so bad. I wanted to back up my inaugural World Championship win and win the inaugural Olympics, too. 

Where is the actual Gold Medal going?

At the moment I have a bunch of medals in frames hanging around my house. One frame-per-medal, so the walls are filling up now. My plan is to make a special frame for this Gold Medal with a few other special things around it to compliment the Medal and my Olympic experience. I May put all the X Games medals in one or two frames - instead of four frames; one frame per X Games -  and I also need to work out what to do with my latest UCI World Championship Gold medal, too - haha. I have three World Championship medals, so maybe combine Into one frame, too.

Once you’re free from hotel quarantine, what’s the celebration going to be like?

I’m not 100% sure yet. I’m not much of a party person, so I will probably have a dinner with my close friends. I’ll do a special dinner with my wife and just enjoy being around them. I’ve been so strict on myself in my career and my adult life, so I haven’t really done many simple things - like have a beer with my dad, so I’ll probably try organize a fishing day with him and my brother and sink a beer with them.

Do you have any sort of victory tour planned at home?

I do not! Personally, I wouldn’t like to set that stuff up myself - I just let whatever happens happen. So, if other people are working on that, it’s cool - but I haven’t heard of anything. I saw Declan did something crazy like that back home and I think it’s amazing to see. We showcased BMX to the world and it’s cool to see guys within BMX become household names!

Are you planning on taking any time off the bike or is it straight back to work?

You know what - I can’t wait to get out of quarantine and ride my bike. Haha! I’m going to take every opportunity that comes up off the bike and embrace it all. I actually got asked to go on the TV show Dancing with the Stars, which is so left-field of anything I’ve ever done - and I can’t dance at all - but I’m honestly considering doing it and just embracing everything that comes along from this win. But, yes - I will still be riding my bike and continue working hard, riding contests and posting clips for my fans because that’s just purely what I enjoy doing and it keeps me happy and in a great mindset. I’m always trying to do what’s best for my mind. 

You’ve done so much throughout your career. What goals do you have left?

I’m very content with how my career has gone. I’ve done so much more than I ever set out to do. I had two major goals when I became a pro BMX rider - win an X Games Gold Medal and buy a house from BMX money. I wasn’t completely content after achieving these two goals. I obviously set much bigger goals along the way and now I can say I’m truly content with all I have done. But in saying that, every day I strive to be better and I will continue working hard and, while I’m at the top of my game, I will continue trying to top podiums at the biggest events in the world and keep this amazing career going.

Any final thoughts as you reflect on this epic journey and incredible victory?

I’m so grateful to have made it to The Olympics and to have won the first Gold Medal in BMX! Eighteen riders got to showcase this amazing sport on the biggest stage of them all. I’m so honored to represent BMX and show a completely different audience what BMX is. We made it!

Most importantly, if you recall, you promised me an Australia Speedo if you took Gold. Are you going to be a man of your word?

Hahaha! Yes, of course. I can give you some Aussie Speedos!